The use of visual timers to support IV push time management significantly reduced the number of nurses committing IV push errors.
Time Timers for Healthcare
A study by Tara McCurdie, Varuna Prakash and Patricia Trbovich examined how interruptions affect nurses during intravenous medication delivery. The research found that a visual timer helped support more accurate IV push timing.
Read the full studyBefore starting an IV push, the nurse sets the visual timer to the prescribed delivery time. The coloured disk gradually disappears as time passes, offering a clear and intuitive way to monitor medication delivery—even when interruptions occur.
The research combined observations, simulated medication administration and focus groups to explore interruptions during IV push delivery. The visual timer was introduced to help nurses remain resilient to expected interruptions and improve delivery-time accuracy.
Read the full studyNurses were interrupted during every observed IV push procedure, sometimes more than once during a single administration.
During simulated scenarios, a higher percentage of nurses made timing errors when interrupted than when they were not interrupted.
The visual timer was introduced to help nurses keep track of delivery time while remaining able to respond to necessary interruptions.
